An application server may be configured with an operating system (e.g., Microsoft® Windows®) and a file system (e.g., FAT) compatible with a particular enterprise application (e.g., an enterprise software application such as Oracle®, FoundationIP®, etc.). The particular enterprise application may operate only when the operating system and the file system match a requirement of the particular enterprise application. Different enterprise applications may require different operating systems (e.g., Apple® Macintosh® Operating System) and different file systems (e.g., Apple® Finder).
An administrator (e.g., a network administrator) may install the particular enterprise application on the application server (e.g. a data processing system) to isolate the particular enterprise application and its configuration from the different enterprise applications in a network (e.g., a local area network, a wide area network, etc.). Alternatively, the administrator may install multiple enterprise applications on the application server.
The network may include a back-up server communicatively coupled to the application server and/or other application servers. The back-up server may prevent a loss of data when the application server fails by having substitute copies (e.g., back-up copies) of the data of the application server. However, the back-up server may be slow and/or have limitations. For example, a policy (e.g., such as Sarbanes Oxley legislation and/or an internal corporate policy) may specify a response time to a certain application level and/or file level inquiry for data associated with the particular enterprise application (e.g., a four-month old email correspondence deleted within minutes of receipt).
When the application server fails and/or is disabled, the back-up server may not be able provide data to comply with the policy. For example, the back-up server may not store manipulated data (e.g., changed, modified, added and/or deleted) between each scheduled backup. If the scheduled backup is performed at small intervals, a storage space to store data may be huge and/or expensive (e.g., may be costly to purchase, manage, and maintain).
Even if the back-up server is able to comply with the policy when the application server fails and/or is disabled, the back-up server may not have the operating system and/or the file system compatible with the particular enterprise application (e.g., necessary to retrieve, recover, and/or restore). The administrator may need to recreate (e.g., retrieve, recover, restore, etc.) application level and/or file system level data to comply with the policy. The administrator may have to perform a number of frustrating, time consuming, and expensive tasks (e.g., installing the operating system and/or the file system, installing the particular enterprise application, searching for data, retrieving the data, verifying the data, etc.) to respond to requested application level and/or file system level data.